Oil well testing device



C. V. MILLIKAN OIL WELL TESTING DEVICE Filed Nov. i1944 Feb. 151946.

k. A .(2 ....Mu ...v MW .H Nq... uw

C. V. MILLIKAN OIL WELL TESTING DEVICE Filed Nov. 7, 1944 -I-i .5. 51,35, if*

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ff E.

T j INVENTOR C. V. MILLIKAN- OIL WELL lTESTING DEVICE Feb. 19, 1946.

Filed Nov. '7, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 3 a 4.0 aa

INVENTOR ATTORNE Patented Feb. 19, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT orties OIL TESTING DEVICE f Charles V. Millikan, Tulsa, Okla., assigner to Geophysical Research Corporation, New York,

N. Y., a corporation of NewJersey I Application November 7, 1944, serial Nn.' 562,353

- .4 claims. Cl. 'ze-iss) This invention relates' to V ou wen testing devices.

In applicants co-pending application, Serial No. 455,295 thereis disclosed a procedure for separately testing different ,sections of an oil-producing zone in a well which is producing in the normal manner for the purpose of determining vthe rate at which the fluid is iiowing irgowtle w'll following specification and accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are enlarged sectional views respectively of successive portions of the instrument shown in elevation in Fig. 17;

' Fig. 6 is a section on the line B--B of Fig. 4;

Figs. land 8 are sections on the linesfl-I-l and 8-'8 of Fig. 5;

Figs. 9 and 10 are sections on the lines 9-8 and Ill-l of Fig. 3';

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary section similar to Fig. 2 but at right angles thereto: I I

Fig, 12 is a section on the line I2I2 of Fig. 11; Fig. 13 is a fragmentary section similar 'to Fig. 1 but'at right angles thereto;

`.l5 of this invention will becomeapparent from the.A

Fig. 14 is a section on the une III-'u of Fig. 2,

' upper end by a hoisting plug II and contains clock mechanism enclosed in a casing I2, the lower end of which is threaded. A slotted tube I3 is screwed onto thethreaded end of the casing I2 and is Vclosed at its lower end by a plug I4 threaded into the end of the pipe I0 and having a projection to which the tube I3 is attached by a screw I5. The drive shaft I6 of the clock mechanism projects from the casing I2 a short distance into the'tube I3. A sleeve l1 is slidably vided with a collar 20 between which and a collar 2l on the shaft I3 near the end of the casing I2 is arranged a helical spring 22 surrounding the shaft IS and sleeve Il. The spring 22 is of the expansion type. and normally tends to hold the sleeve l1 in the position shown in Fig. 1 with the pin I9 in contact with the upper end of the longitudinal portion oi'Y the slot I8. However, vthe sleeve I'l may be moved upwardly against the.

pressure of the spring 22 to bring the transverse portion of. the slot I3 into register with the pin v25 which mounts a driven shaft 26 extending through the plug i4 and beyond the upper surface of the plug 23. A collar 21 is pinned to the upper end of the shaft 26 and is provided with a circular series of longitudinal 'holes into which extend studs 28 projecting from a plate 2S having a central boss 30. A torque spring 3l is interposed between the collar 20 and the plate 29 with one end fitting over and fixed to the boss 30 and the other end tting over and xed to the portion of the sleeve il extending below the collar 20. A wheel or disk 32 is mounted on the shaft 26 between the plugs i4 and 23 and isprovided on its rim with indicia visible through a slot 32a in the tube i3 (Fig. 13) with the pipe IB disconnected and removed from theplug I4'.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the plug I4 has a. boss 33 of smaller diameter than the plug itself and the boss 33 extends into a pipe 34, the upper end vof which is threaded onto the lower end of the plug i4. The driven shaft 26 has a portion 35 of reduced diameter projecting beyond Vthe lower end of the boss 33 and around which a liquid-tight seal is provided by the stuffing box and packing 3B. A slotted tube 31 has its upper end fltting over the boss 33 and is attached thereto by a screw 38. In the lower end ci' the tube l31 is arranged a plug 39 held in place by a screw 4U. A head 4I in the pipe 34 has a shaft. A42 extending through the plug 39 and held in l place by a collar 43 pinned-thereto, the collar,

mounted on the4 shaftjand is provided with a f slot I8 having a longitudinal portion and a transverse portion into which slot projects a pin I9 mounted on the shaft I6. The sleeve l1 is proshaft and head being rotatable with respect to the plug 39. A helical spring' 44 has one end attached tothe shaft 42 and is provided at its upper end with a clamp i5 by which the upper end of-the spring is xed to the portion 35 of the drive shatt 26. The lower end of the pipe 34 is closed by aplug 46 having in its upper portion a recess 41 opening upwardly. A rod 48 is slidably supported by the plug 46 axially thereof and extends upwardly into the pipe 34. The lower end of the rod 48 projects beyond the base of the plug 46 and is provided with a head 49 which limits upward movement of the rod. Ori the rod 48 is ixed a collar 56 between which and the ,bottom of the recess 41 is mounted a helical spring i tending to move the rod 48 upward to bring the head 49 into contact with the lower face ofthe plug 46. At its upper end, the rod 48 is provided with an enlarged hollow member 52 into which projects a stud 53 extending from the lower face of the head 4|. The upper surface of the portion 52 is closed except for an axial bore through which the stud 53 extends and a radial slot 52a (Fig. 14). The stud 53 is equipped with a pin 54 (Fig` 14) of suitable size and arrangement to pass through the slot when alined-therewith and upon axial movement of the rod 48. lower position than that shown in Fig. 2 to locate the pin 54 above the portion' 52 and the shaft 42 is oriented suiiciently to maintain the pin 54 out of alinement with the radial slot 52a. A disk 55 (Figs. 11 and l2) is slidably mounted onthe rod 48 and two'rods 56 extend downwardly therefrom through the plug 46 and through holes in the head 49. A stylus 51 (Figs. 11 and 12) is supported by the disk 55 and is adapted to engage a chart supported on the iri terior surface of a cylindrical chart holder 58 attached to the head 4| and extending nearly to the bottom of the pipe 34. A pipe 59 has its upper end'threaded to the lower end of the plug 46 and within the pipe 59 is a cylinder 60. A piston 6| is'slidably mounted in the cylinder 60 and is attached to the lower ends 0f the rods 56, upward movement of the piston being limited by an annular stop 62 at the upper end of the cylinder 80. Rods 63 arranged in longitudinal grooves in the periphery of the cylinder 60 have their upper ends attached to the had 49.

the lower end of the cylinder 60 and the lower ends of the rods'63 are attached to a slidable cupshaped member 65 (Fig. 9) arranged in the pipe for movement relative to the ring. The cupshaped member 65 has two symmetrically arranged apertures 66 in its bottom section and a downwardly projecting rod 61 is attached at one end to that portion of the cup bottom extending between the aperture 66. The rod 61 projects downwardlybeyond the end of the pipe 59 and is provided with a head 61a. A hollow connector 68 joins'a pipe 69 to the pipe 59 and receives the rod 61. A valve seat is threaded into the upper end of the pipe 69 and is arranged to cooperate with a lift valve 1|- having a stem 1|a engaged by the lower end of the rod 61. A crossbar guide member 12 (Fig. 10) is provided in the valve seat 10 and a helical spring 13 is arranged between the member 12 and a collar 14 on the valve stem 1|a, the spring 13 tending to move the valve 1| into closed position.

At the lower end of the pipe 59 is provided a spring-actuated check valve (Fig. 4) for the purpose of preventing escape of liquid from the pipe 69 through the bottom. end thereof. A hollow plug 16 is threaded into the lower end of the pipe 69 and the portion of 16 below. the bottom edge of the pipe 69 is of somewhat greater diameter than the pipe 69. The plug 16 has a ter pipe .19 surrounds the pipe 18 and is attached to the plug 16 ilush with the larger diameter portion thereof. Ducts 80 provide outlets from the annular space between the pipes 18 and 19 (Fig. 6-) The lower end of the pipe 19 is closed by a plug 8| (Fig.5) having a small diameter boss 82 to which is attached the lower end of the pipe 18. In the boss 82 is provided an axial passageway 83 terminating in a plurality of radially arranged passageways 84. A pipe 85 has its upper end attached to the lower end of the plug 8| and the plug is provided withpassageways 86 providing communication betweenthe interior of the pipe 85 and the annular'space between the pipes 18 and 19. The lower end of the pipe 85 is closed by a conical shape plug 81 having passageways 88 providing communication between Normally, the rod 48 is at a sufllciently' position.

small diameter central boss 11 to which is Aat the exterior and the interior of the pipe 85.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 16, the pipe 59 and the cylinder 60 are provided with registering slots 88 and 90 respectively, the upper end of each slot being below the positionof the bottom of the piston 6| when in its uppermost position and the bottom of each s'lot being above the position of the bottom of the piston 6| when in its lowermost wardly for a purpose later to be pointed out, although it may be of uniform width the same as the slot 89.

In Fig. 17 is illustrated the use of the instru'- ment 'just described in a` well equipped with a perforated steel casing or hner, for the purpose of determining the nature of uid being obtained from different sections o f the oil-producing zone and the rate at which the iiuid is flowing fromv each section. In this figure, |00 is a standard steel liner set into the well with cement `|0| in the usual manner. Within the liner |00 is a discharge tube |02 which is equipped atintervals with packing rings |03 which contact the inner surface of the liner |00 to form annular chambers |04. While the spacing of the packing rings |03 may be yaried, it has been found that a spacing of approximately three feet is satisfactory. The liner |06 is provided with the usual apertures |05 communicating through passages 106 with the strata surrounding the well, these apertures and passageways being formed in the usual manner after the liner has been set in place by bullets shot from a special gun lowered into the liner. The discharge tube |02 is provided with one or more apertures .|01 between each pair of packing rings |03 to provide communication between each chamber |'04 and the interior of the discharge tube. Within the discharge tube |02 is arranged the testing instrument |08 described previously in this specication withl reference to Figs. l to 16 inclusive. On the inner wall of the discharge tube |02 are provided pack-off rings |09 which are spaced apart approximately the same distance as the packing rings |03 and are located closely adjacent'such packing rings. Each pair of pack-off rings |09 forms an annular chamber H0 with the surface' of the lower enlarged portion of the instrument |08' when the instrument is so arranged that the enlarged portion contacts both rings of the pair. The rings |09 are so designed that the enlarged portion of the testing instrument |08 ts them snugly but the instrument is capable of movement relative thereto so that it may be placed in and removed from the discharge tube. in the position shown in Fig. 17, the passageways 84 communicate with a single chamber H0 and a single chamber |04 while the passageways 88 The slot 90 preferably expands upf i' tion.

are located below the bottom ring ma of the pair. Fluid :from that portion of the discharge v tube |02 below the instrument enters the instru- 'tures |01 and a single chamber IIB.

composed of the sleeve |1`and the collar 20 is raised from the 4position shown in Fig. 1 and Before the instrument i|l8 is lowered into the well, the piston 6I rests on the collar 64 at the bottom of the cylinder 6D, while the disk 55 and the stylus 51 are located in the recess 41 as shown in Fig. l1.` The rod 48 is depressed sufficiently against the action of the spring 5| to locate the top surface of the portion S2 below the pin 54 and the head 4I is sufficiently oriented to misaline the pin 54, with the slot 62a thereby maintaining the rod 48 in its depressed posi- The valve 1| (Fig. 3) is held out of contact with the valve seat 1|) through the medium 'of the head 49, rods 63, sliding member 65, push l with the surface of its enlarged portion contacting two pairs of pack-oil rings |09, the duid from the well below the lower pack-off ring 09 flows f through the passageways 88 intoV the pipe 85,

through the passageway's 86g into the annular space between the pipes 18 and 19 and out through the passageways 80 into the discharge tube |62 above the upper pack-of! -ring |08. Fluid from the chamber IIB ows through the passageways 84 and 83 into the pipe 7B and thence through the passageway 11 and the check valve .16 into the pipe 69. From the pipe 69 the uid iows around the valve '1I intothe connector 88 and through the passageways 66 into the cylinder 6c to engage the bottom surface oi the piston 6| and move the piston 6I upwardly to uncover the v lower ends of the slots 9|) and 89. The piston 6| moves upwardly until the rate of flow through the slots 90 and 89 equals the rate of ow into the instrument through the passageways 84. The upward movement of the piston 6IL produces corresponding mcvement of the disk 66 and stylus 51, thus causing the stylus to produce a trace on the chart carried by the chart holder 58, the

. chart and its holder' being rotated at the same speed as the head 4I. Y is a record of the rate of flow through. the slot The trace on the chart 9B during the time the instrument is in operation. When the pin 54 reaches alinement with the'slt 62a, the rod 48 is released for upward movement by the spring 6I to lift .the push rod 61. through the medium of the head $9, rods 63 and slldable member B6 to permit the spring 13 to lift the valve 1I into closed position thereby preventing further flow through the instrument. The check.

valve 16 is effective-to retain liquid in the pipe $9 upon removal of the instrument from the well to lprovide a iluid sample which may be removed from the instrument for analysis purposes.

The length of time that .the valve 1I is held open is regulated by initial orientation of the stud 53 with respect to the slot 52a in the member 62 with the pipe lll4 disconnected and removed from the'plug I 4 to permit access to the collar 21.

rotated counterclockwise to locate the pin I9 in the transverse portion of the slot i8. Such movement of the sleeve I1 retracts the pins 28 from the collar 21, thus permitting rotation of the collar 21 to effect thedesired orientation of the stud 53 with respect to the slot 52a. The indicia on the -disk 32 are suitably calibrated to indicatev be selected. After such selection has been made,

the collar 20 is turned in clockwise direction until the pin I 9 is in the longitudinal portion oi' the slot I8, Aafter which the pins 2B are re-engaged in holesin the collar 21.

The slot 80 is formed of upwardly expanding configuration for the purpose of having the extent `of movement of the piston proportional to the rate of ow on a logarithmic' scale rather than on a linear scale. 1f a linear scale is desired, the slot Sil should be ouniformwidth from top to bottom.

Preferably; the chart on which the stylus makes its trace comprises a soit c opl'lei" sheet. The

stylus is a steel pinwhich scratches or embosses a line in the copper sheet as' it moves along the same. The chart holder is /not sealed o. from the fluids so that the chart-may be immersedin uid while the record is being made and it is for this reason that the copper sheet is used for the chart.

IIhis application is a division oi' applicants -co-pending application. Serial No. 460,769.

I claim:

1. An instrument for =lise in bore holes to determine the rate of ilow of liquid thereinto comprising a cylinder having an inlet port in its bottom end and a longitudinal outlet slot-in its vertical wall, means for supporting said cylinder'within .a bore hole at dierent depths, a piston movable back and forth in said cylinder to traverse said slot and having one face engageable by uid flowing into said cylinder through said inlet port, and recorder means within said cylinder responsive to the position of the piston in said cylinder.

2. An instrument for use in bore holes tc determine the rate of flow of liquid thereinto comprising a cylinder having an inlet port at its bottom end anda longitudinal outlet slot in its vertical wall, means for supporting said cylinder at different depths in said bore hole. a piston in said cylinder movable to and fro to vary the eiective area-of said slot and having one end face engageable by uid iiowing through said inlet port into saidcylinder, a rotatable cylindrical chart contained within said cylinder, means for rotating said chart, a stylus slidably supported within said chart for co-operation with the inner surface In order to eilect the desired orientation, the part 75 thereof, and means interconnecting said piston and stylus.

3. An instrument for use in bore holes toldetermine the rate of iiow of liquid therelnto comprising a cylinder having an inlet port in its bottom end and a longitudinal outlet slot in its vertical wall, means for supporting said cylinder at diiferent depths in said bore hole, a piston in said cylinder movable therein to vary the effective area of said outlet slot andhaving one end face engageable by fluid ilowing through said inlet port into said cylinder, a rotatable cylindrical chart contained within said cylinder, means for rotating said chart, a guide member coaxial of said chart, a head slidably mounted on said guide member,

rods interconnecting said piston and head, and 5 a stylus carried by said head for co-operation with the inner surface of said chart.

4. An instrument for use in bore holes to determine the rate of ow of liquid thereinto comprising a casing having inlet and outlet ports for 10 

